Really Good Shawarma: Student Thoughts on the Holy Land
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or six of the students who pioneered the Living Education–Charlotte program, the most memorable part of that endeavor took place not in Charlotte, North Carolina, but in the heart of the Holy Land itself. On Living Education’s trip to the nation of Israel, these students experienced the unique biblical insights that come from an archaeological dig and a tour in the land of the patriarchs—including a visit to Jerusalem, the once and future capital of God’s Work on Earth. We took the opportunity to talk with each of these Living Education graduates from the class of 2019, who eagerly shared the insights and perspectives they had gleaned from their time in the land where, someday, we all hope to live. While the tour let the students see Israel’s most famous sites with their own eyes, the dig let them get to know the land with their own muscles—and according to Tressie McNair, there was no prior archaeological experience required. “The dig was not as complicated as I thought it would be,” she said. “It can feel like yardwork. You dig—there are just as many thorns as dead grass, and you’re clearing it away.” Francesca Rodino concurred, describing the work as “not so much a treasure hunt—you’re not going to find a whole
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Our intrepid crew aboard a replica first-century fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. bunch of relics—and it’s not going to be as romantic as it sounds. You’re going to be hauling dirt, hauling rocks, doing a lot of manual labor. At the same time, it’s nice, because you’re working with different kinds of people, and you’re able to develop a camaraderie, to talk to the people in your little square dig site. It’s definitely really difficult—it’s dirty work, and it’s fun.” At the end of such an experience, the chance to tour Jerusalem came as a welcome respite. “It’s exhausting,” Francesca said emphatically. “You earn the tour.” That tour progressed at a rapid pace—after all, when you have a limited time in a country as iconic as Israel, you fit in everything you can. “We covered a lot during the tour, and I’m glad we tried to get a whole bunch in there,” said Andy Casey, who felt awed to walk where one of God’s closest friends may have walked. “There was an old gate up in Tel Dan that they think could have been around during the time of Abraham,” he said. “That was when it really hit me that we were in Israel—when they were talking about how ‘This could have been a gate that Abraham went through. When he came up to rescue Lot, this is the area he was in.’ It’s pretty crazy to think that there’s stuff remaining from back then—evidence for our faith in the Bible.” Of course, much of Israel, particularly Je-
